Pho-nomenal

Hehe.

I know, my post sounds very pho-real like that.

I'm giggly. Maybe caused by carb overdose of some very good pho last night. I may even go as far to say the best pho I've had all my life.

Of course, Starr and gang, I'm hoping you'll prove me wrong when I get back to KK, but really, for now, this is the best pho, bar none.

Made lovingly by my beloved Dr. D, here are some pics to whet your appetite. Taken with stylistic intentions with my toy cam app.

I'm sticking to my S90 for blog pictures from now on...

Vain nerd alert

My new apps are so awesome. 

Swish, swish, swish. Beautiful.

Paparazzi is back

It is officially HOT these days.

22 degrees celcius. In Luxembourg, that's major.

Even when it rains, it's warm. I'm melting. Sweat. Sweat. Sweat. Growl. Sweat. Sweat. Sweat. Headache. Sweat. Mumble. Grumble. Sweat.

Die. I'm going to become one of those annoying people who go back to Malaysia and say, "Gawd, it's so hot here, I dunno how people can stand to live in this heat."  ^__^

The good thing is, though, that summer dressing is my favorite of all the seasons. All kinds of colors come out, and the whole city is filled with light and life. Here's what I wore the other day:

ASOS dress. 

Zara shorts. 

Brooch from Beijing market. 

Blinged out slippers from Bangkok. 

Longchamp Le Pliage bag. 

Coach shades.

Tiffany & Co necklace. 

Cheap hoop earrings from Shanghai market.

A lousy narration. With a point.

I'm in a thoughtful mood.
And I had some food for thought this afternoon.

Most of you who know me well know that while pretending to be European these days, I still get my (more than) daily dose of Cheena-ism from the youtube-like websites (youku.com and tudou.com) that I got hooked on whilst living in Shanghai.

Every evening, I need my fix of 康熙来了. How I love 小S and 蔡康永. It's pure mindless entertainment, but I absolutely love, love, love it. I sit next to Super Hubs who watches the news and other serious french channels, with my laptop next to me and headphones in my ears, and laugh till I shake sometimes. J'adore the show. So much.

Okay... I've digressed.

Back to my story about deep thoughts.

So, today being the weekend, my fave show doesn't air. So I looked around for some stuff to watch whilst painting my nails. And it wasn't easy cos so many shows can't be watched from outside China. Some sort of copyright/ piracy issue. *thinks about the irony as I roll my eyes*

Sigh. I've digressed again.

Anyway, I came across 鲁豫有约, which is kind of like the asian "Oprah". And in the episode I finally settled on, she was interviewing 周迅, a multi-award winning actress who I never had too much interest in because I had never watched any of the movies she acted in. Mainly cos I'm such a mainstream chick that I've never had an affinity for award winning movies cos they're just too artsy and slow for me. One of my favorite feel good movies is White Chicks. So what?!? I like to laugh!!! *defensive in case I'm being stereotyped cos of my movie choices*

I digressed again, huh?

Okay. As I was saying. 鲁豫 was interviewing 周迅, who surprised me by being sweet, down to earth, witty and funny, and she was talking about her life and thoughts about winning awards all over the world, her love life, her lack of it, her interests, and all that jazz.

... YOU KNOW WHAT? I so suck at narrating stories.

Anyway. I promise there is a point to all this.

Basically, what made me think was this thing she said about life in general. She said that after winning her first award, she was happy, but almost at once, realized how fleeting everything was. Going onto stage to pick up her award, basking in the applause, it all lasted for 5 minutes. Then it passed. After all those months of filming the movie, that was it. She'd achieved the highest high. BUT THAT WAS IT! Then she realised something important. No one should ever dwell too much on the highs and lows of life. That it was important to not be too depressed about failure, nor too big-headed about success, because that too, will pass. For sure. 

I really don't do justice to what she said.

But the words struck a chord in me because I've always strived for 'success' and so-called 'perfection'. And she made me realize that as long as I enjoyed the journey, the end results, which could either be exhilarating or  demoralizing, didn't really matter, because those feelings would pass anyhow. And after that, I get to go on with another part of my journey.

I feel I'm not even doing justice to what I think. But in my head, it's really profound.

Anyhoo, watch it here if you understand mandarin and are interested:
http://www.tudou.com/playlist/p/a66676i86171709.html

Limo

Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, 

but what you want is someone who will walk with you when the limo breaks down.

Pique-nique

Ingredients for a great Luxembourgish pique-nique:

1. A bunch of great people

2. A whole lotta good food

3. Bright, bright sunshine

4. Stunning views

5. And most importantly, huge servings of smiles and laughter

"Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it's about learning to dance in the rain".

The letter to me

On days when I feel down, I write. Not in this blog because some thoughts are too personal. But somewhere out there, I write and I write and I write and I write.

I write because it makes me make sense of my thoughts, and I write because it makes me feel better. Because in the end, I am all I have, as you are all you have. The bestest friends in the world can't replace the relationship you have with yourself.

And I've found the more I love and appreciate myself, the more I've been able to extend the same generosity of heart to others. It's when I feel scared and doubtful of my own abilities that I end up projecting it to all around me, and viewing the world with skewed eyes.

So, today, I felt bad. Cos of something bad someone did that I know is really not so important in the bigger scheme of my life.

And today, I came across a letter I wrote to myself a couple of months back. And I felt better. And while it's incredibly personal, I decided to share it here. Because everyone should write a letter to themselves once in a while. If only just to remind yourself of how awesome you are, and that this awesome person is in you all the time. That even if the world seems bleak, you still have you. Till the end of time.

Here's my letter to me.

What would yours say if you wrote to you?

---

Monday, 21 March 2011

Destined for greatness

Dear Super Hero Heather,

Thank you for being here for me all this while. You've been a solid rock, and you've been stronger than I ever imagined you could be - smiling through every challenge, and so so so calm and positive every single day.

You've shown grace and elegance when you did not know what to do or how to react. You're so sure of yourself, because you know it's you and your happiness that matters. In the face of life, you've been a joy to be with, and your innocence and sincerity and love for life will always shine through, because that's who you are. So beautiful, on the inside and out.

It's amazing how you try to find ways to improve every single day. You've come a long way, remember that, and pat yourself on the back for that. You must look forward to the days that come, because life can only get better and more wonderful for someone as lovely as you.

You may be unsure now, Heather, of how things will pan out. You want life to be perfect, and you want so much to be at a place of security and stability and financial abundance. I know how much you desire it, and how much you wish you had a book that could tell you exactly what to do to get 'there'. And I'm here to tell you, take heart and just keep trying and just keep going. It's written on the cards - you will have the happiness, abundance, precious friendships, loving family, perfect marriage, fulfilling days and peaceful encounters. You will have everything you want.

In fact, isn't most of what you want here already? Do you see? And it can only get better and better, exactly the way you imagine it to be. THAT I promise you.

And remember too, every decision you make IS the right one. Every one you made in the past was the right one. And every one you make in the future will be the right one.

Trust me, life is panning out exactly according to what you want. It may not seem like it at times, but it is. Trust me. One day you'll look back and go, 'ah! now THAT makes sense.'

So, waltz along now, great one. You're living a great life, and destined for an even greater one.

Smile and rejoice now, in practice for when you get there. 

Love,
Your ardent admirer

----

Hero tactics

What should a Super Hero do when faced with the most evil and machiavellic villian in the world?

a. Calmly confront and try to make them see the sense of their lunacy and inhumanity.

b. Sit and meditate and think positive thoughts and change the situation with good vibrations. (cue song: *heal the world*)

c. Whack and kick and beat the shit out of them.

I know what I'd wanna to do.

Guess.

Take a wild guess. :p